Rani Rashmoni of JanBazar, Kolkata was a woman of great strength. She was the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata. Born on 28th September 1793, the Bengali year, 1211, Rashmoni at a very tender age of 11 was married to a wealthy zamindar Babu Rajchandra Das of JanBazar. When she gained maturity and came to live with her in-laws and husband, the greatest possible tragedy hit her. Her husband passed away leaving her all alone.
Rashmoni soon took charge of the family business. She was an extremely pious lady and led a very religious and austere life. With the help of her son-in-law Mathur Babu, who was married to her third and youngest daughter, Karunamoyi, she not only consolidated the family business but also became a champion for the people. The responsibility of administration and commerce after her husband`s bereavement brought out her managerial traits and supervisory skills.
Contributions of Rani Rashmoni
The Rani was an autonomist in her viewpoint and always remained in conflict with the British. Rani Rashmoni also had to her glory other great humanitarian works. She is credited with the construction of a street from Subarnarekha River to Pari for the pilgrims; building of Babughat, Ahirtola Ghat and Nimtola Ghat for the bathers in the Ganges and generous charity to the majestic Library (now National Library) and Hindu College (now Presidency College).
Swayed by her spiritual inclination she established the renowned temple on the banks of the Ganges at Dakshineswar in the North 24 Parganas. She set up a new bathing ghat in Hoogli and named it Babu Ghat after her late husband. She even stepped ahead to help the fishermen thriving on Hoogli waters, whose livelihood was hampered by the speeding British steamers. Rashmoni blocked the river traffic by iron chains and did not remove it until her demands were met.
The Rani`s greatest contribution was the building of the Dakkhinshwar Kali temple. She patronized Shri Ramkrishna Paramahansa as the guardian of the Dakkhineshwar temple. Her outstanding social work and philanthropic nature earned her the name Rani or the queen. She patronized Shri Ramkrishna as the guardian of the Dakkhineshwar temple.
Rani Rashmoni passed away on 19th February; 1861. In her honour the Department of Post passed out a postage stamp to memorialize the bicentennial of this valiant and courageous Queen.
